Okay, it's not me, but what do you do if you put out a live trap and caught a skunk?? A fellow we know has live caught some wildlife in his yard and he takes them to the bush and releases them. He mentioned that when he caught a skunk he didn't want to move it for fear of being sprayed so he just let it die in the cage.:eek::frustrated: I was sooooooooo POd with him. He's such a nice guy, how could he be such an A$$. Even my husband who used to hunt was furious when I told him. So what can I suggest he does with the skunks if he catches any more? Is there a way to safely transport them? He bought the trap because he didn't want to pay an exterminator to come out and trap animals so he figured he could do it himself. I don't think he'd pay to have them come out and take a live skunk from him. :yell: I really would like to be able to offer him something other to do with them than letting them die a slow and horrible death. Help please.... This is probably in the wrong spot now that I think about it so if any of the Mods want to move it that's okay with me.

BenMax

February 23rd, 2010, 01:21 PM

You are suppose to approach the cage with a large sheet or something of the sorts in front of you to show no threat. Also, a towl or large cloth is to be used to cover the cage once the skunk is in it. Again, you must approach as camouflaged as possible.

Something that disturbes me about relocating skunks: If you remove a skunk, squirrel, raccoon etc from a location, there will be a fight over the territory by other species to claim this new 'vacancy'. Infact, what people are doing is creating more chaos with a fight over territory which will result in a higher population. It is a no win situation except to live in harmony with nature's creatures.

Melinda

February 23rd, 2010, 01:25 PM

*L* we did that DogDancer, and have it on film to boot!! we used a hockey stick to open the trap door (it was a kids stick so we were about 3 feet from the cage) but she just looked at us like "give me a break, I'm sleeping here", so hubs slid a pail under the door to hold it open and knocked on the trap with the hockey stick *L* I'll swear she was laughing at us as she curled into a tighter ball, we then got the hose....gave her a light sprinkle...nothing...(I'm at this point standing on hubs jeep filming him and going "ooooh ooooh ooooh she's looking at you") *L* after a good 20 minutes she stood up, stretched, gave us a dirty look and sauntered...yes...sauntered out of the cage, stared at both of us and calming walked around the corner of the house back into the field, did I mention I was trying to catch the neighbours cat when this happened??

Frenchy

February 23rd, 2010, 01:28 PM

A skunk won't spray while it's in a cage , not if it can't raise it's tail high up.

but of course , when you open the door to let them out .... it could , doesn't mean it will though. :shrug:

Melinda

February 23rd, 2010, 03:46 PM

frenchy, this was a cage for trapping foxes, I didn't want the cat uncomfy when I caught him, I even had a blanket in there for her and a plastic tablecloth over it because it was suppose to rain that night, believe me, it had plenty of room to raise her tail. The ministry gave me reason why she didn't spray us

Tundra_Queen

February 23rd, 2010, 08:08 PM

I would call the natural resources guys to tell them there is cruelty done to a wild animal! Some people make me sick! :mad:

luckypenny

February 23rd, 2010, 08:49 PM

Dog dancer, if there are places on this guys property for the animals to hide eg. under sheds, wood piles, patios/porches, etc., you may want to suggest to him to place ammonia soaked rags in these areas. They should be replaced every 3-4 days. In a short time, the animals will move on. It's best he start doing this now before any babies are born in convenient locations near his house.

BenMax

February 24th, 2010, 09:57 AM

Dog dancer, if there are places on this guys property for the animals to hide eg. under sheds, wood piles, patios/porches, etc., you may want to suggest to him to place ammonia soaked rags in these areas. They should be replaced every 3-4 days. In a short time, the animals will move on. It's best he start doing this now before any babies are born in convenient locations near his house.

Excellent advice LP. Also - this will also deter other animals from trying to claim territory. This is what people don't get..remove 1 and you have others from one square mile radius fighting for that same territory.

Dog Dancer

February 24th, 2010, 10:55 AM

Thanks for the info and advice folks, I'm going to pass it along to him. I detest that he's letting the poor creatures suffer. I don't think he'll risk moving a live skunk though, so while I will tell him about the "unable to lift their tails" part I will also tell him how to deter them with the amonia rags. Let's hope he goes with that and doesn't catch any more. Thanks again.

ownedbycats

February 24th, 2010, 07:41 PM

I'm fairly sure it's illegal here in Canada to live trap wild animals and not release them. It definitely falls under cruelty to animals (failure to provide food/shelter). If he catches another skunk and refuses to release it himself you can propably call Humane Society or whoever investigates in your area.

Dog Dancer

February 24th, 2010, 11:14 PM

Unfortunately I don't really see that much of them so I probably will never know if he catches another. I think my best shot is to provide him with the deterrent info. LP, do you know if this amonia rags thing will work with rats? We have them under our porch deck and I could put rags out there.

krdahmer

February 25th, 2010, 01:24 PM

:cry: poor skunk! :rip:

When we were trying to catch my friends cat George, we caught a couple of racoons and once a skunk.... they called me for the same reason they didn't want to touch any of those animals or risk getting bitten. The cage was already covered with a towel in the hopes that George would feel more comfy going in if he couldn't see it was a cage, I just went over carried the trap across the back yard and carefully opened the trap with my hands. The oh so adorable BIG skunk, just sniffed at my hand holding up the door, then waddled out and into the nearest bush. Skunks and racoons and all other smaller animals are all around us, and most people never even see them or notice their presence.... just because these animals wander into his yard doesn't mean he has to evict them, if there is nothing in his yard for them (ie improperly stored garbage, holes in houses to find warm shelter) they'll just wander right back out. And they're out at night when we're asleep so why does he care???

Dog Dancer

February 25th, 2010, 02:27 PM

I'm not sure why he's trapping in his yard for sure, but I believe it started out with squirrels or raccoons getting into his attic. I know I wouldn't want a skunk living in my yard but that's because of the dogs. He doesn't have dogs or cats!! I frequently encounter our neighbourhood skunk when out walking the dogs at 5:30 in the morning. Ran into him this morning actually. Halo saw him first and put up a good racket (thankfully she was on a leash) and he toddled off into the bushes. There is one that lives under my neighbour's deck and it got his dog last summer, so I'm going to pass on the amonia info to him also.

Longblades

February 26th, 2010, 09:05 PM

A deterrant that works for squirrels is to soak cotton balls in oil of peppermint. Replace after a rain or a few days. My Mum tried it and it worked to keep them out of her flowerpots. Now, I don't know if it works with skunks too but worth a try?